THE National Bureau of Investigation yesterday filed a falsification case against dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo before the Justice Department over the falsified signature on her trafficking in persons counter-affidavit.
NBI Director Jaime Santiago said aside from Guo, also charged were lawyer Elmer Galicia, who notarized Guo’s counter-affidavit, and four others — Dante Catapay, Cheryl Medina, Catherine Salazar and Geraldine Pepito
“After investigation and collection of evidence, we finally came out with the cases against Alice Gup and five of her cohorts. The cases that we filed are falsification by a notary public, use of falsified documents, perjury and obstruction of justice,” Santiago said in a press briefing.
Guo currently faces a non-bailable qualified human trafficking case before a Pasig court as well as a graft case before a Valenzuela court.
The Office of the Solicitor General has also filed a quo warranto petition against her with a Manila court as well as a petition to cancel her birth certificate before a Tarlac court.
Money laundering charges had also been filed against her before the DOJ.
NBI Task Force Alice Guo head agent Palmer Mallari said the results of an examination showed that Guo did not sign her counter-affidavit, contrary to what she told the Senate last September 17.
During the resumption of the Senate inquiry on Guo’s alleged links to the operation of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in Bamban that was raided by the authorities last March, she said she signed the last page of her counter-affidavit before escaping from the Philippines in the last week of July.
Mallari said the NBI collected sample specimen signatures from original documents in Bamban and sample specimen signatures from the counter-affidavit.
“After the examination, it was proven that the sample signatures appearing on those documents as compared to the supposed signature appearing on the counter-affidavit were actually not written by one and the same person,” Mallari said.
Mallari said the four other respondents were included in the complaint “for falsification of a notary public under Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code.
In the same briefing, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said they would also file a disbarment case against Galicia before the Supreme Court.
“Dapat lang, we will and we should pursue,” Remulla said, adding this should serve as a warning to all lawyers not to engage in the irregular practice.
DOJ Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano earlier said Galicia may have misused his notarial authority as he notarized Guo’s counter-affidavit even if she did not personally swear before him as called for by notarial rules.
Testifying during the Senate inquiry, Galicia initially told senators he was not aware that Guo has a standing warrant of arrest issued by the Senate, saying he seldom watches or hears news on TV and radio even if he is the publisher of a tabloid.
He said his secretary called him on his phone informing him that a certain Allan was waiting for him at his office in Bulacan to have a document notarized. Galicia said he was surprised a woman who looked like the dismissed mayor wanted her counter-affidavit notarized.
“I assumed that it was Mayor Guo. She even presented her driver’s license. She has a resemblance with Mayor Alice Guo because I have seen her while browsing the internet so my perception is she really was Alice Guo,” Galicia told the senators.
Galicia admitted the Alice Guo he was referring to did not step out of her vehicle.
DOJ PROBE
The DOJ said it will look into allegations that Guo is a Chinese spy, with Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty saying this is a national security concern that must be taken seriously.
Ty said the department will coordinate with other government agencies, particularly the National Security Agency headed by retired general Eduardo Ano and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency led by retired police general Ricardo de Leon to determine the veracity of the information against Guo.
“We will follow the advice of our intelligence agencies since they are the ones who will vet the reports that she is a Chinese spy,” Ty said on radio DZBB.
International television news channel Al Jazeera earlier aired a documentary in which Guo was tagged as a Chinese spy by Chinese businessman She Zhijiang, who is imprisoned in Thailand. She, who is fighting extradition to China, said Guo is actually Guo Hua Ping.
Guo denied being a Chinese spy or knowing She.
Allegations that Guo might be a spy have surfaced during the Senate inquiry on her links to the POGO hub in Bamban that was raided by the authorities due to alleged illegal activities, aided in no small part by the murky details of her citizenship.
DFA WEIGHS IN
The Department of Foreign Affairs is monitoring reports about alleged covert operations in the country amid concerns that Chinese spies are operating in the country.
DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said the department is coordinating with relevant government agencies on the matter.
“The Department has noted reports containing relevant information on alleged foreign covert operations in the Philippines. In accordance with its mandate to help protect national security, the Department takes such reports seriously and is monitoring relevant developments in this regard,” Daza said.
The DFA issued the statement days after the House of Representatives Quad Committee investigating POGO operations in the country discussed an Al Jazeera documentary featuring an interview with Chinese businessman She Zhijiang, who claimed he was an agent of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), Beijing’s equivalent of the US Central Intelligence Agency.
Daza said she has no information yet if the DFA has reached out to the Chinese Embassy in Manila on the matter.
“That’s as far as we can say relevant to this topic. What’s important is we are actually coordinating with other agencies on it because it is a concern,’ Daza added.
Remulla said they are already coordinating with their foreign counterparts on the matter.
“Nagtatanong na kami at nagko-coordinate sa aming (We are asking and coordinating with) foreign counterparts and we are trying to investigate and interview ‘yung nag-announce ng ganun. These allegations are very serious allegations and we take that seriously,” Remulla said.
“Itong nakita natin (What we’ve seen with) Alice Guo reminds us that we have national security concerns on these matters where fake identity is concerned. There are national security implications of this use of false identities or authentic documents with false information in them and not properly secured or not of the holders of these documents,” he added.
Santiago said they are also looking into the spy claim.
“There is a need for us to conduct an investigation on the declaration of the detained person. We are verifying those claims,” Santiago said, referring to She.
The NBI chief said they will also coordinate with other government agencies and their foreign counterparts to check the veracity of the claim.
ESPIONAGE LAW
Senate president pro tempore Jinggoy Estrada said he filed a proposed measure last year seeking to amend the Espionage Law “long before the Senate began investigating the issues surrounding” Guo.
Estrada said he filed Senate Bill No. 2368 in July 2023, which seeks to amend “our antiquated espionage law” which is under Commonwealth Act No. 616 signed in 1941, and in the Revised Penal Code (RPC) which took effect in 1932.
“The expansion of the coverage of espionage includes new provisions addressing cyber espionage. This legislation is a response to evolving threats and technological advancements that could compromise the country’s security,” Estrada said.
Under existing laws, espionage is punishable by 10 to 30 years in prison and a fine of P20,000 to P30,000. The RPC sets the penalty for espionage at six months and one day to six years in prison.
Estrada said his bill recommends the implementation of stiffer penalties, including life imprisonment and fines amounting to at least P1 million “to bolster the safeguarding of government information and effectively address advancements in technology, encompassing electronic documents and cybersecurity.”
Estrada said the Committee on National Defense and Security that he chairs has been actively engaged in deliberations on the proposed measure.
“A hearing was held on May 22, 2024 and subsequent to this, a technical working group was created to refine the bill,” he said.
“I stand in solidarity with our defense chief (Gilbert Teodoro) in pushing for reforms to our espionage laws which were instituted almost a century ago. Given the significant changes in national defense and security over the years, it is important to review and update these policies to ensure they are relevant to the current landscape. Any input from the defense department will be welcomed to help fine-tune the measure,” he added.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro earlier called on lawmakers to amend the Espionage Law to allow the government to punish those who engage in such acts even during peacetime.
Senate President Francis Escudero earlier said the Defense Department needs to clarify what it wants to be amended in the law “because, to my understanding, the espionage law is only used during times of war.”
MEDICAL CHECKUP
Guo has declined offers for her to undergo a medical checkup, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said yesterday.
BJMP spokesman Supt. Jayrex Bustinera said Guo, who is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail, can avail of the pulmonary checkup anytime.
Senators, during a recent Senate hearing on offshore gaming hubs, told the BJMP that it will be “much better” if Guo would undergo a medical check-up.
An x-ray test, conducted before her transfer to the Pasig City jail last September 23, earlier showed the dismissed mayor had a lung infection. A subsequent test showed she had no tuberculosis.
The BJMP requested the Pasig City Regional Trial Court, where Guo is facing a non-bailable qualified human trafficking case, to allow Guo to undergo a pulmonary checkup.
Bustinera said the court issued an order last September 26 approving the BJMP request to have Guo checked at the nearest public or government hospital.
“However, when the court order went out, she no longer had symptoms. That’s why Alice Guo doesn’t want to be checked up. We cannot force one person to under checkup,” he said.
Citing information from BJMP doctors, Bustinera said Guo has no symptoms of pulmonary problems.
“She’s healthy, that’s the feedback from our BJMP doctors, she is in good condition. She is generally healthy, she is okay,” Bustinera said. — With Raymond Africa and Victor Reyes
